


Love Sick

by splashusplashu



Category: Free!
Genre: First Kiss, Haru's a feverish ball of nerves, M/M, Mistletoe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-15 22:12:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17537246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/splashusplashu/pseuds/splashusplashu
Summary: Each and every year Nagisa somehow succeeds in luring his friends out of their respective homes and into his own for his annual holiday party. Haruka isn't really a fan, what with all the loud music and constant bumping into people, but Makoto was such a big softie that of course he accepted Nagisa's invitation- and that meant Haru was coming, too.





	Love Sick

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sillyotter](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=sillyotter).



This year the party was borderline unbearable.

Makoto had, of course, been his ride, and he'd taken a nice nap in the car, but it never could have prepared him for the living hell he encountered upon arrival. Nagisa was even more hyperactive than usual, the music made his head ache, and the tables lined with food where Haru often ends up stationing himself aren't the least bit enticing, even with Makoto trying hard to persuade him to eat something. The others teased him about not being in the holiday spirit, and though Makoto was quick to come to his defense, they weren't exactly wrong. Haru shied away from all the festivities, wanting his friends to be able to enjoy themselves even if he couldn't. He found himself gravitating further and further away from the group as the night went on, and Nagisa, ever-eager to be the perfect host to all his guests, was the first to take notice. The ball of energy bounded over.

"Heyyy, Haru-chan! Don't you want to join in on our next game? This one's really, really fun, I promise!"

"No thank you." Though Haru does his best to politely decline, Nagisa still acts devastated, pouting.

"But we only have a few games left tonight! I want you to be able to play at least one-" Before he can say anything more, someone calls out to him in frustration about the dwindling snack supply, pulling his friend's attention away from him for a brief moment. Haru takes this opportunity to slip out the back door unnoticed. Finally, a little peace and quiet.

The soft sigh he breathes is visible in the cold, becoming a small cloud that he watches disappear. As he lifts his eyes toward the sky, however, a new point of intrigue quite literally hits him- in the form of a tiny flake of snow that lands on the very tip of his nose. Haru stands still to admire the weather, losing track of time with his head tilted up toward the stars. All too soon, his sweet silence is interrupted by a voice far too gentle to be Nagisa's; he realizes that it is, in fact, so soft that he almost doesn't mind the intrusion.

"Haru?"

Makoto. Who else would it have been, really? "Haru, what're you doing out here all by yourself? Aren't you cold? You don't even have a scarf!" Haru is almost certain he knows what's coming next. His suspicions are confirmed when Makoto begins stripping without so much as a warning.

"Makoto."

"I know what you're going to say- But really, if you plan to be out in the snow, you need to dress warmer!"

"I'm fine."

"You're not! You're shaking!"

"I'm not."

The two continue to squabble for a bit, the argument ultimately ending with Haru very reluctantly bundled in a new, cozy layer of Makoto's clothes. He didn't appreciate being babied like this, he never has, and he never will. He sniffs indignantly.

...But a little part of him knew it was no use denying the fact that it was always different with Makoto. Makoto could take care of him; Makoto _knew how_ to take care of him. It was tolerable coming from him. Or more than just tolerable, if Haru was being honest. The constant affection was likable, maybe even lovable, but more than anything, it really was wanted and appreciated. Possibly even a bit craved. His face starts to feel hot, and his mind won't stop racing, his thoughts going by far too fast to comprehend.

It quickly becomes too overwhelming for Haru to handle everything at once. Whether to focus on how he feels physically or emotionally is an impossible decision. It's not like Makoto treating him this way was anything new, so why must all these feelings suddenly consume him? And he didn't feel particularly flustered by what his friend had done, so why is he now so short of breath, so red in the face? Not a single one of his questions had evoked an answer, but the strangely distant sound of Makoto's voice is already dragging him back to reality.

"Haru? Um, are you alright? I didn't tie the scarf too tightly, did I?" He feels what must be Makoto's palm against his forehead. "...Ah! You're burning up!"

"It's probably nothing..." Haru manages to pull himself out of his own head to protest, shrugging.

 

Then he topples over.

 

\---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 

 

When Haru opens his eyes, he's swaddled in a blanket on Nagisa's couch, being greeted by what looks like half a dozen or so blurry, concerned faces.

"Oh, you're awake!" He blinks, and his vision clears to reveal Makoto crouched down and face-to-face with him, Nagisa and Rei right by his side. "Thank goodness..." Makoto breathes a sigh of relief.

"You're running a fever," Rei clarifies, and Nagisa waves a thermometer around as if to prove it.

"Yep, and it's a really bad one, too! Good thing Mako-chan got you back inside, huh?"

"He did?" Haru's voice comes out as a weak croak.

"Yeah. I, uh, carried you in after you fell... So the party came to a bit of a halt." Makoto offers a half-smile.

"Oh. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. Nothing was really happening, anyway." Another voice chimes in, and Haru has to crane his neck to peek around his friends and find its source, Sousuke, relaxing on the sofa opposite to the one he's currently occupying. Momo's strewn across his lap, snoring, while Rin and Aiichiro are sitting practically smushed together, taking up the little room there is left- and also snoring. He raises an eyebrow, and Sousuke mumbles the answer to his silent question, idly petting Momo's hair. "...Passed out. Too much eggnog."

"Anyway!" Nagisa weasels his way back into the conversation. "I knew something was up the second you said you didn't wanna play my games! I should've known Haru-chan was just sick all along!" He's mostly wrong, and far too triumphant with his claim, but being sick did explain why every little thing about the get-together was getting on Haru's nerves. It felt a bit reassuring to know that his irritableness was justified.

His crowd of three disperses, leaving him unsure of what to do. So he sits in painfully awkward silence until Nagisa returns from wherever he'd gone off to and plops down on the floor in front of him, facing Haru with a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. He could tell his friend was getting ready to say something ridiculous.

"Haru-chan, did you know that you talked a lot when you were knocked out?"

"What? No, how would I know that?" Already he began to dread what he'd hear next.

"You were saying..." Nagisa pauses to clear his throat, attempting an impression of Haru. ""Makoto, Makoto, Makoto!""

Haru promptly covers the boy's mouth with his hand. He can feel his entire face burning again. He couldn't have done that, he wouldn't have. Would he? He groans, vaguely recalling the mess of thoughts he'd had before blacking out.

When he snaps out of it, he finds Nagisa staring at him with wide, curious eyes. He grits his teeth. "Did, um... Did he hear?" Nagisa laughs, an unreassuring response.

"Well... everyone kinda heard."

The words are more or less a punch to Haru's gut, but Nagisa continues anyway. "Mako-chan was, like, kinda into it though!"

"He was what?"

"When he heard you say his name he got all embarrassed, but he had this huge smile on his face!" Nagisa beams, not thinking to stop and let Haru get a word in, as per usual. "So I saw that and I wondered what was going on between you two! I mean, you were alone together for a while and he came back basically cradling you in his arms-" His rambling comes to an abrupt stop as Haru briskly cups his hands around Nagisa's cheeks.

"Nothing's going on." With no further explanation, Haru rapidly unwraps himself from the blanket, rolls off the couch, and stumbles to his feet, legs wobbling.

"Haru-chan?" Haru thinks he hears Nagisa say something else, but he can't be bothered to turn around and ask. He's already marching away with his jelly legs, moving with purpose in his awkward stride.

He determinedly decides to check in the kitchen first, but bumps into something in the doorway before the search can even begin. "Makoto." It's the first word Haru thinks of, but the something answers accordingly.

"Haru? I was just helping clean up, and I thought you might like to rest a bit... Err, why aren't you laying down?"

In a daze, Haru squints up at Makoto. His mouth opens, but no words come out.

"Are you alright? Did you need something?"

"Makoto."

"What is it? Is something wrong?

 _"Makoto."_ He says his name with more urgency, staring up just above him now with narrowed eyes.

"Haru?" Makoto, absolutely puzzled, finally follows Haru's gaze to see a cluster of green leaves all tied up in a little red bow hanging over their heads. He gasps.

_"Haru, I can't-"_

_"Makoto, I want-"_

They both attempt to blurt out what's on their mind at the same time, much to each other's surprise. After a series of sheepish apologies and _"no, you go first"_ s, Haru breaks the trend at last.

"I... I want you. I feel like shit and I just wanna hold you and curl up in your lap and have you all to myself forever and ever." The words come out all in one breath so that Haru has no time to take any of it back or even contemplate regretting it. Makoto's initial response is a squeak, taken aback by the blunt confession. Haru presses on, insistent on showing him that the matter is urgent.

"I'm pretty sure I'm gonna pass out again soon but I want you to know that I'd give an arm and a leg to have a cuddle buddy like you and the mistletoe's a bonus." Haru's never talked so much or felt so sick in his life. His words are slurring together a bit, but his sheer determination to hear an answer from Makoto keeps him standing and speaking. "And also I just really like you like a whole lot and I have for a long time and I don't think I could say all this sappy stuff if I was thinking straight." He coughs, and he doesn't stop coughing, feeling his head pound harder with each wheeze. Strong arms embrace him. And all of a sudden he's muffled by Makoto's chest, drowning in warmth- and the second his coughing subsides, he lifts his head to press a chaste, impatient kiss to the lips he'd been longing for.

He then sneezes, and Haru is pretty sure he sees Makoto's face go through all the stages of grief before he passes out a second time.

 

 

\---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 

 

Once again Haru wakes to find himself tenderly wrapped in blankets, this time in a comfortable, familiar bed. He sits up straight, recognizing Makoto's room almost instantly, and his eyebrows furrow as he attempts to rack his brain for answers. Memories of the previous night hit him like a train, his expression twisting into a grimace. Their moment under the mistletoe just might haunt him until the day he dies. He buries his face in his hands with a groan, only daring to peek when he hears approaching footsteps a few minutes later. The door creaks open.

"Haru? I'm glad you're finally awake!" Makoto happily pushes the door open to greet him as if nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened between them. Haru goes to say something similarly normal, something along the lines of a simple "hello" or "good morning", but instead of giving a coherent response he empties his stomach onto the carpet.

Understandably, his friend reacts poorly, turning sheet white. "Uhh... Buh..." While Makoto stutters, Haruka works on convincing himself to force some words out without fear of gagging.

"Makoto, I'm alright." Haru eventually makes an effort to reassure him, even going so far as to try for a shaky smile. It isn't _exactly_ a lie- at the very least his headaches appear to have subsided, which is definitely an improvement. The room is quiet for a bit longer before Makoto can finally get himself to speak, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"A-Ah, that's good. Do you feel like you might be sick again-?"

"No, I don't think so." And more silence. Haru can't stand it. "...I feel a bit better now, actually."

"Oh, I'm glad you got that out of your system, then!" Finally he seems to relax, laughing softly. That typical, angelic Makoto-exclusive smile has returned, and for a moment, all feels well. Until a quick shift in his expression catches Haru's eye, that is. The subtle change is just enough to alert him to what will happen next, but it's already too little, too late. He can only watch as Makoto bursts into a violent fit of **kitten sneezes**.

Time passes with no end in sight; almost a full minute comprised of countless sneezes, all sickeningly cute. It leaves poor Makoto breathless afterwards, hands on his knees as he inhales... and exhales... and inhales... and exhales. The instant he's standing straight and fully recovered, he sends a pouty look that must be his attempt at a glare Haru's way. Even his tone of voice comes out as a whine more so than anything else.

"This is all yoooouuuur fault!"

"Is not."

"Is too! You sneezed in my _mouth_ last night!" Haru tries to refute this, but finds that he can't, because it's unfortunately completely true.

So he mimics Makoto's pout instead, and the pair playfully bicker back and forth until they remember the gross sick-puddle from earlier and resolve to mop it up. They can't keep quiet even as they clean, still pushing each other's buttons all the while like best friends do. It's rare that Haru ever gets a chance to really tease Makoto, and he vows to take full advantage of it.

"Makoto."

"Yeah?"

"Nothing's stopping you from cuddling me now."

Predictably, the easily-flustered boy splutters at this.

"But you're still sick!"

"You're probably gonna _get_ sick trying to take care of me, if you aren't already."

No answer. It doesn't worry him. Haru's certain that Makoto's due to give in any time now.

"...Ahh, okay, fine! You win, but under one condition!"

Haru cocks an eyebrow, his interest piqued. "Name it."

"You still owe me a real kiss under the mistletoe."

He doesn't even hesitate with his answer, the beginnings of a smile making its way across his face.

"Deal."

 

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

 

Makoto magically contracts symptoms inexplicably similar to Haru's within the next few days. Somehow.

**Author's Note:**

> [crossing fingers] please post this time
> 
> Obligatory snowy, silly, cuddly, and kinda kiss-y short-and-sweet holiday schmooze. My gift to sillyotter for the exchange!


End file.
